NITI Aayog CEO, CII chief laud proposed reforms in farm sector by FM Sitharaman

Niti Aayog chief Amitabh Kant and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Director General Chandrajit Banerjee on Friday lauded the proposed amendment to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and agricultural marketing reforms announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

On Twitter, Amitabh Kant said the proposed structural reforms were held up for decades and the move to deregulate the sale of cereals, edible oils, potato, and onion are "big-ticket changes".

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Right to focus on farm sector

On the other hand, CII chief Chandrajit Banerjee said in the third tranche of the package announced by the Finance Minister, the focus was rightly laid on the agricultural sector. "A combination of big-ticket reforms together with allocation of money for agricultural infrastructure and logistics is a welcome move to strengthen the sector that provides the highest share of employment in our country," Banerjee said in a video message on Twitter.

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The CII chief noted that the farm sector has been subjected to a host of restrictions that are no longer relevant and has hindered the marketing and price realisation of agricultural products. "In this context, the amendment of the Essential Commodities Act and the agricultural marketing reforms proposed by the Minister are indeed heartening," Banerjee said.

The CII chief further stated, "We hope that the states fall in line with these changes. What is also critical is that these changes are being supported by the substantial allocation of funds including Rs 1 lakh crore for the development of agricultural and food processing infrastructure."

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Part 3 of relief package

The Centre rolled out its third tranche of economic measures with 11 announcements on Friday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced 11 measures — of which eight of them focused on strengthening infrastructure, capacities, and building better logistics in agriculture, fisheries, and animal husbandry, while the rest three pertained to governance and administrative reforms.

Agricultural reforms included rolling out schemes to finance farming infrastructure, micro food enterprises, fishermen, animal health, dairy infrastructure, herbal cultivation, bee-keeping and food supply chain management. The other three measures included an amendment to the Essential Commodities Act, Central law for agriculture marketing reforms, and e-trading of agriculture produce.

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